"Members of the University of Virginia’s Board of Visitors got more than they bargained for Friday when they came face to face with students rallying for a “living wage.”

Because of a last-minute scheduling change, the board, which thought it would find itself safely holed up inside the Rotunda while the rally was going on outside between 1 and 2 p.m., instead wound up having to walk down the Lawn toward Old Cabell Hall, right past the protest taking place on the Rotunda’s Lawn-side steps.

The kickoff of the new $3 billion fundraising campaign was relocated Friday from the Rotunda’s Dome Room to Old Cabell to provide more space for the audience of invited guests. The move meant the board members, along with some of the university’s most influential officials and donors, would pass along the edge of the Lawn in the midst of the rally, which was advocating for higher pay for UVa employees.

“Our priorities are misplaced if we raise money for the South Lawn project but don’t pay any attention to the people who will work there and clean its floors,” living wage campaign organizer Benjamin Van Dyne told about 80 protesters.

Some university officials, such as Vice President and Provost Gene D. Block, were initially able to skirt by the crowd largely unnoticed. But as the bulk of administrators emerged from the Rotunda, the jig was up - the students realized what was going on, and began flowing after them.

“What do we want? A living wage! When do we want it? Now!” they chanted, making their way to Old Cabell with signs that read “Workers Can’t Eat Prestige.” They then set up in front of Old Cabell - meaning UVa officials and all invited guests had to pass within feet of them to enter the building - and began even more energetic chants.

One after another, top university officials, including UVa President John T. Casteen III, ran the gantlet to enter Old Cabell, awkwardly trying to ignore the students. Some were visibly annoyed at what was obviously a snag in the otherwise meticulously planned schedule of the campaign kickoff.

“John Casteen, here’s what you do - pay your workers 10.72!” the cry went up as Casteen made his way up the makeshift ramp and into the building.

The living wage campaign is asking UVa to pay its employees a minimum of $10.72 an hour, which it defines as the minimum amount needed to live in Charlottesville. The university currently pays its classified employees a minimum of $9.37 an hour.

University spokeswoman Carol Wood said UVa will be raising that rate to $9.75 in December, and that its rate is already among the highest offered by state institutions.

“Our thoughts on competitive salary compensation at the university are well known. We are considered the employer of choice in the region and we will continue to work hard to retain that honor,” Wood said.

As for the board members, they all declined to comment on the issue of university pay or the rally.

The university has a long, rather rocky history with the living wage movement, and last spring protesters staged a sit-in at Madison Hall that resulted in numerous arrests. The protesters were all acquitted, however, when the judge ruled university officials did not give them enough time to disperse before calling in the police.” (Aaron Kessler, The Daily Progress, September 30, 2006)